VA Linux Registers
A 698% Price Pop

By

Terzah Ewing, Lee
Gomess and

Charles Gasparino Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Dec. 10, 1999 12:20 a.m. ET

Thought the IPO market couldn't get any more impressive? Think again.

VA Linux Systems , which sells computers tailored to a popular free operating system, registered a 698% price pop, the biggest first-day gain ever for an initial public stock offering in the U.S. The previous record was the 606% opening-day surge by theglobe.com in November 1998. Offered at $30 a share, VA Linux exploded to end the day at a 4 p.m. price of...